2018 Draft Thread I

[Forge]

Matt Miller has put up another mock draft prior to pre-season. Interesting that he has us drafting at #8. He's expecting a very solid season from us overall it looks like. That being said, he has us drafting us Saquon Barkley...which...yeah, no. I can't see that in any way, shape or form to be perfectly honest. Even if we let Hyde walk as a free agent.  Has Allen #1 to the Jets, Darnold #2 to the browns. Surprisingly, he has McGlinchey all the way down at 21 and the third tackle off the board. 

[Fureys49ers]

I'm a huge Barkley fan but I'm not sure adding a RB in round 1 is what this team will need come draft time. Obviously a lot can change but I would think OL, defensive secondary, WR and possibly even another pass rusher in that order would take priority over a RB. This is assuming we get Cousins of course, otherwise QB is priority numero uno.

[Forge]

21 minutes ago, Fureys49ers said:

I'm a huge Barkley fan but I'm not sure adding a RB in round 1 is what this team will need come draft time. Obviously a lot can change but I would think OL, defensive secondary, WR and possibly even another pass rusher in that order would take priority over a RB. This is assuming we get Cousins of course, otherwise QB is priority numero uno.

I should have added that he did project Cousins signing with us in this draft, though if we are drafting at 8, it wouldn't matter anyway, because we aren't likely to get Allen / Darnold / Rosen. 

But yeah, I just don't see that happening with Barkley. Especially given Shanny's history (and his father's) of making late round running backs studs. 

I would think Corner, Offensive line for sure would be in play. Wide receiver as well - Courland Sutton maybe. 

[AustrianNiner]

1 hour ago, Forge said:

I should have added that he did project Cousins signing with us in this draft, though if we are drafting at 8, it wouldn't matter anyway, because we aren't likely to get Allen / Darnold / Rosen. 

But yeah, I just don't see that happening with Barkley. Especially given Shanny's history (and his father's) of making late round running backs studs. 

I would think Corner, Offensive line for sure would be in play. Wide receiver as well - Courland Sutton maybe. 

I'd (still) absolutely love Sutton.

[Geek]

So considering how bad the Oline has looked thus far into camp, I think there is a decent chance we invest in the Oline early next year, especially if we pay Kirk. Staley is likely on his last legs, Garnett could be a bust, who knows whats going on at center, the RG spot looks awful, and Brown might not pan out. Therefore we likely could be looking for the best lineman available, regardless of position. Anyone have any names to keep an eye out for?

[Fureys49ers]

- Connor Williams, OT, Texas, Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame, Martez Ivey, OG/OT, Florida, Martinas Rankin, OT, Miss St,  Mitch Hyatt, OT, Clemson, Trey Adams, OT, Washington, Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma, Casey Tucker, OT, Stanford, Quentin Nelson, OG, Notre Dame, Billy Price, OG, Ohio St., Will Clapp, OG/C, LSU, Frank Ragnow, OG/C, Arkansas, Mason Cole, C, Michigan, Scott Quessenberry, OG/C, UCLA

Now some are Juniors and some are Seniors but all, as of right now, are arguably 1st-3rd round prospects. Next year will be a great year to address OL through the draft and that's not even the guys that pop up throughout the season, hopefully QB, WR and maybe even CB can be addressed through FA.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

I'll be disappointed if we have a top five pick and we don't go QB. Hoyer isn't the future evidenced by his deal/reputation, and neither is Beathard. This franchise, like most, isn't going anywhere far until they find a QB. Guessing Darnold, Allen, or Rosen will be donning red and gold a year from now. At least from early talk, this upcoming draft is supposed to be a big one for QBs that are probably going to be available. So I guess it's a great time to suck really bad. 

[y2lamanaki]

4 hours ago, PapaShogun said:

I'll be disappointed if we have a top five pick and we don't go QB. Hoyer isn't the future evidenced by his deal/reputation, and neither is Beathard. This franchise, like most, isn't going anywhere far until they find a QB. Guessing Darnold, Allen, or Rosen will be donning red and gold a year from now. At least from early talk, this upcoming draft is supposed to be a big one for QBs that are probably going to be available. So I guess it's a great time to suck really bad. 

I agree with this if we don't sign Cousins. If we sign Cousins and pick a QB, that would be really absurd. 

[Forge]

9 hours ago, PapaShogun said:

I'll be disappointed if we have a top five pick and we don't go QB. Hoyer isn't the future evidenced by his deal/reputation, and neither is Beathard. This franchise, like most, isn't going anywhere far until they find a QB. Guessing Darnold, Allen, or Rosen will be donning red and gold a year from now. At least from early talk, this upcoming draft is supposed to be a big one for QBs that are probably going to be available. So I guess it's a great time to suck really bad. 

I agree with @y2lamanaki. It all depends on whether or not we sign Cousins. It doesn't make any sense to draft one if you sign Cousins - you just continue to groom Beathard and home that he develops into something and spend your picks in other areas. If we don't sign Cousins, then yes, quarterback should be the highest priority in the first round this year - though in Miller's scenario, we were picking 8th, which would be too late to nab one of the main three guys (may be high enough to get one one of the top 4 if Francois declares and you think that he's a top 10 pick guy)

[GW21]

1 hour ago, Forge said:

I agree with @y2lamanaki. It all depends on whether or not we sign Cousins. It doesn't make any sense to draft one if you sign Cousins - you just continue to groom Beathard and home that he develops into something and spend your picks in other areas. If we don't sign Cousins, then yes, quarterback should be the highest priority in the first round this year - though in Miller's scenario, we were picking 8th, which would be too late to nab one of the main three guys (may be high enough to get one one of the top 4 if Francois declares and you think that he's a top 10 pick guy)

I'd rather go young and draft a guy next season. Even if we are picking at 8 we accumulated some ammo for next year to make a move up for someone if need be. The Bears should be picking fairly high again this year and just drafted Trubisky, it's possible Kizer shows something for the Browns as well and makes them look a different direction. I think the obvious competition for QBs is going to be the Jets and Jags. This QB class is largely dependent on Darnold and Rosen declaring. 

[Forge]

3 minutes ago, Gore Whore 21 said:

I'd rather go young and draft a guy next season. Even if we are picking at 8 we accumulated some ammo for next year to make a move up for someone if need be. The Bears should be picking fairly high again this year and just drafted Trubisky, it's possible Kizer shows something for the Browns as well and makes them look a different direction. I think the obvious competition for QBs is going to be the Jets and Jags. This QB class is largely dependent on Darnold and Rosen declaring. 

Some ammo, yes. Enough ammo to pull off a move to get into the top 4 (maybe 3) to grab a quarterback? Maybe not so much. That's an expensive process when it's a quarterback that you're going after. A move from 8 to 4 to get a quarterback could easily cost 2 firsts and 2 seconds. We don't have the additional draft capital for that, and making such a move could be highly detrimental to a team that is in a full on rebuild. Thankfully, we will know where we are drafting before free agency starts. 

I have said it before, I don't think that there's really a wrong answer here. There are pros and cons to signing Cousins rather than draft a guy, just as there are pros and cons for drafting a guy. 

If you sign Cousins:

Cons:

It's probably going to be the biggest FA deal in NFL history (talking purely on the free agency market). That's a large deal for a guy who is largely considered about an average starting quarterback in the league, sucks up a lot of cap space, and if he bombs, it's a lot of money to be on the hook for. On the flip side, if there's a time to do that, it's now, when we have no cap issues in the foreseeable future. 

You know what you're getting - there's not suddenly going to be a huge jump in his ceiling. On the flip side: the same could have been said about Matt Ryan going into last year with Shanny. 

Pros:

Doesn't cost draft picks. We should be in position to get an elite talent next year once again. This would free us up to do that. 

You know what you're getting. Yep, it's a double edged sword. It is hard to draft a quarterback as good as Cousins. Seriously, go back and look at the first and second rounders for like the last decade and see how many of them turned out better than Cousins. It's a small percentage. Odds would probably suggest that if 4 quarterbacks go in round 1 next year, 3 of them will be worse than Cousins, and 2 of them will flame out completely. 

If you pass on Cousins and draft a guy: 

Cons:

If you miss, that's your job. End of story. Missing on a top 3-5 quarterback sets the organization back 4 years. By then, Shanny and Lynch will have completed their 5th years of the 6 year deals they signed. At that point, if we are still sitting in a similar position, Shanny would be likely to be canned. History would suggest that you're no better than a 50/50 coin flip on hitting or missing. For his own personal survival, signing Cousins may be seen as the better, less variable option. 

Pros:

If you hit, you get cheap, cost controlled stud at the most important position in football. It immediately opens up a super bowl window for you to push all in on. Your quarterback is younger than Cousins, and has an entire career in front of him that could make the team a playoff contender for the better part of 2 decades. 

The ceiling could be higher than what Cousins offers. 

[Forge]

Interesting article / interview with Josh Rosen:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2722587-josh-rosen-qa-ucla-qb-on-injuries-ncaa-and-post-nfl-goal-to-own-the-world?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

 

For those that don't know, Rosen is known for being very opinionated and very outspoken. I kind of dig it, but I think that there are some teams that are going to be turned off by his personality. Some very non-cookie cutter answers in there, and he's not afraid to talk about topics that are usually a no go for quarterbacks. 

[GW21]

5 hours ago, Forge said:

Interesting article / interview with Josh Rosen:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2722587-josh-rosen-qa-ucla-qb-on-injuries-ncaa-and-post-nfl-goal-to-own-the-world?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

 

For those that don't know, Rosen is known for being very opinionated and very outspoken. I kind of dig it, but I think that there are some teams that are going to be turned off by his personality. Some very non-cookie cutter answers in there, and he's not afraid to talk about topics that are usually a no go for quarterbacks. 

Rosen throws one of the prettiest balls I have seen. I don't really care about him being outspoken as long as he brings it when it comes to practice/games and doesn't blow up the locker room, which I understand is the concern. I would love to have Rosen on our roster next season assuming he doesn't completely implode this year.

[Geek]

Interesting article about a lineman we might be interested in this upcoming draft. Also, includes a cameo from Solomon Thomas which I thought was pretty cool. I'm terrible at evaluating lineman, but Connor Williams has certainly got my attention.

https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/07/24/connor-williams-texas-nfl-draft-solomon-thomas

[Fureys49ers]

He's probably my favorite OT prospect in a couple years. Great size at 6'6" 320 lbs, carries it well and moves well for a guy of that size. Plays with physical demeanor and finishes his blocks on running plays but also has solid footwork and hands when in pass pro. His technique needs a little work as he gets a little too aggressive in both areas of blocking but he's got all the tools, including good football IQ and awareness.